It has been dubbed the Quack Attack, but there is nothing cute about the Oregon offense.

Using a version of the option running game that mixes speed, power and deception, it’s more like a stampede — a stampede No. 9 Stanford must corral if it hopes to upset the No. 4 Ducks today and take early control of the Rose Bowl race.

“Oregon has a great offense, maybe the best in the country,” Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said. “We’d like to limit their side of the scoring as much as possible, if that’s possible.”

It hasn’t been so far.

The Ducks are third in the nation in rushing, third in total offense and first in scoring, averaging 57.8 points per game.

They scored more points at Tennessee (48) than any nonconference opponent in more than two decades.

Of their 24 touchdown drives, 11 have taken less than a minute.

They’re so good that Arizona State was lauded for holding the Oregon offense to four touchdowns last week.

What’s so special about the Quack Attack?

“The first thing that creates problems is the pace,” said Craig Bray, Arizona State’s defensive coordinator. “It’s extremely fast, and it changes all the time.

“They have a normal no-huddle, and then a pace where they immediately get on the ball, and there’s no way to show that to your defense in practice. When they come up to the line of scrimmage and go, it’s unbelievable.”

That poses two problems for the defense: Getting the proper personnel onto the field in time for the snap of the ball, and exhaustion.

There’s no time for the 300-pound defensive linemen to catch their breath.

“The tempo puts great pressure on the defense to get lined up,” Harbaugh said. “One missed tackle and the thing goes for 50 or 60 yards.”

Then there’s the small matter of accounting for all of Oregon’s playmakers.

Maybe the Ducks hand the ball to tailback LaMichael James, who averages 8.2 yards per carry.

Maybe quarterback Darron Thomas fakes the handoff to James and sprints around the end.

Maybe Thomas (10 touchdown passes, three interceptions) throws to Jeff Maehl, one of the top receivers in the Pac-10.

And if Maehl’s covered, Thomas has other options: Seven Oregon players have caught touchdown passes.

It’s all designed to create mismatches and confuse the defense.

“You have to look at everything they do,” Bray said, “and figure out: How the heck are we going to cover the quarterback and the (tailback) and the zone reads and the passing attack with the quick screens and the (downfield) stuff?

“And you only have three days (of practice) to figure it out.”

In some situations, the deceptive Ducks will leave a defensive tackle untouched — figuring that he has no chance to make the play — and send two blockers at the linebacker.

In others, the guard and tackle will sprint toward one sideline. If the defensive lineman doesn’t move with them, a gap is created. If he does move with them, then huge cutback lanes open for James.

“It’s true option football,” Stanford defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “Who do they option off? The end? The tackle? The outside linebacker? It’s simple for them, but it’s very difficult for the defense.”

But it won’t be totally foreign to the Cardinal. The concepts that Stanford will use today are similar to those required earlier this season against UCLA and Wake Forest, which use versions of the option — albeit less devastating versions.

“There is some carry-over to all that,” Bray said. “Everything they’ve worked against will help them.”

Jon Wilner has been covering college sports for decades and is an AP top-25 football and basketball voter as well as a Heisman Trophy voter. He was named Beat Writer of the Year in 2013 by the Football Writers Association of America for his coverage of the Pac-12, won first place for feature writing in 2016 in the Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest and is a five-time APSE honoree.